stevelombo Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Hi everybody! This is my first time posting here and I was wondering if someone could give me some advice on what steps I should take in order to apply to PA school. I will be receiving my bachelors degree in kinesiology next semester and I have taken most of the pre-recs. The one thing that I lack is HCE. My plan was to possibly get my EMT certification, my school offers a class, and gain HCE while finishing up the two or three courses I have left after I graduate. Any sort of advice would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Step 1. Obtain favorite beverage, comfy chair, few hours to kill, and read this site, in particular the pre pa section. Step 2. Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 EMT, nurse aide, medical assistant and phlebotomy are the certifications you can get in one semester or so. Nurse aide involves mostly toileting patients and taking vital signs. Phlebotomy is less gross - all you do is draw blood samples. Some schools don't count phlebotomy as HCE though because it's so limited. ER tech is better you can do EKGs and clean wounds (EMT cert or EMT with phlebotomy). EMT on an ambulance is good experience depending on if the paramedic lets you help or just has you drive. I think medical assistant would have the widest scope of practice and offer the best experience if you someday want to work in a clinic. I've seen a lot of how a hospital works, though, as a nurse aide. I wish I were in a clinic. I should have done medical assistant I think. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevelombo Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 Thank you for the response, I will definitely check into the ideas you gave me. Again, greatly appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted September 13, 2013 Moderator Share Posted September 13, 2013 try to rack up a MINIMUM of 1000 hrs of hce. many solid programs require this. the next cut off is 2000 hrs for some schools and a few top tier schools want 4000 hrs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NathanLe Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 If you're applying next cycle, you'd probably want to start racking up hours, which means finding a job you could jump into pretty quickly (CNA, phlebotomy, etc.). There are usually many CNA jobs available and it's a way to get started in the medical field. If you want to wait and apply for the cycle after next, you might look into the medical assistant route, which takes longer to get educated/certified, but would be great experience and help you get to know some docs and PAs closely. There are many more job options out there to gain HCE - check them out. Whatever you do, I would start shadowing and building some relationships with PAs ASAP. Seeing how real PAs operate is priceless, and if you impress them and get to know them well they will likely be willing to write you a letter for your application, which is huge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Take EMT class and start working as a scribe or a receptionist in ER in the meantime. When you finish your EMT class you already know people in ER that can hire you as an ER Tech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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